In a configuration management system, multiple configuration items (CIs) representing business objects or services. A configuration item may be associated with one or more attributes of the business objects or services that it represents. There may be more than one CI representing a given business object in the system, such that different CIs representing the same object may have at least partially different sets of attributes.
The presence of such similarly-identified (i.e., those representing the same object) multiple CIs generates ambiguity in the configuration management system. For example, it may be difficult to determine if similarly-identified CIs refer to a same business object or different business objects. Also, there may be ambiguity related to transactions or updates directed to CIs, as it may be difficult to identify a correct CI among similarly-identified CIs to which a transaction or update should be applied.
Thus, it is desirable to manage and resolve ambiguity among CIs and CI transactions.